By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, June 2, 2018 The word we use in the Greek language for “saint” is agios for male saints and Agia for female saints. Agios means “holy” and “holy” means “set apart.” The “saints” or the “holy ones” are those who strived in their lives to put God first in all things. They “set apart” the relationship with the Lord and put it ahead of everything else. The decision to strive for holiness isn’t easy, and it
ON OCTOBER 28TH OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY PROTECTION OF OUR SOVEREIGN LADY THE MOTHER OF GOD AND EVER-VIRGIN MARY The feast of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God was established following a vision of our Holy Father Andrew the Fool-for-Christ during the course of a Vigil in the Church of Vlachernae at Constantinople. At the fourth hour of the night, while deep in prayer, the Saint lifted
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, June 2, 2015 Evolutionary theorists have a very difficult time suggesting a mechanism for life. How do plain chemicals – minerals and dissolved substances – combine in a manner that constitutes a living thing? In fact, why would they? I have no interest in discussing the pro’s and con’s of evolutionary theory. It is not interesting to me if you think Darwin was wrong or the devil incarnate. I want to
By Fr. Maximos (Constas) St. Paul says you are the dwelling place of God. Is this how we normally understand ourselves? To be dwelling places inhabited by God? This is a very powerful assertion; do we take it seriously and understand what it means and what our lives mean in the context of such a statement? Do we live consistently with such a statement? It’s a wonderful thing to be able to begin the day
By Michael Haldas Thoughts on Hope and Optimism, June 15, 2016 “Hope has a distinctly Christian flavor to it. Unlike optimism, which is secular in nature, Christian hope isn’t centered on what human beings can do, but on what God has done. Hope is an extension of faith; if faith is a tree, then hope is the branches of the tree. The concept of hope has everything to do with the Kingdom, which is a
By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, June 1, 2018 There is a reason why I end many of these reflections quoting the Psalms. This is because the Psalms read as prayers, many of which are appropriate to use as our personal prayers. One piece of advice I have given many times is for people to read through the book of Psalms (read one a day – it will take you five months) and then in a notebook,
The law was given to multiply our opportunities for falling. —Romans 5:20 The pattern of necessary falling or the “myth of transgression” made less and less sense to Western Christianity as it came to think that religion’s purpose was to teach and maintain social and imperial order. The Christian mind eventually had little respect for the ubiquitous disorder in the universe, unlike most native religions—for example, as here in New Mexico where the Puebloan clown deliberately
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 23, 2015 In my March lecture in San Francisco, I made an assertion that is worth isolating for an article. That assertion is that we are created in the image of the Crucified Christ, and that this is essential in understanding what it means to be human. I have been asked where I got such an idea. The most simple answer is: the Scriptures. Arguably, the first reference to the Crucified Christ
By Fr. Maximos (Constas) The Orthodox Church is a bottomless spring of spiritual wisdom, granting the eternal life of Christ to all who ardently seek it. Through the millennia this wisdom has been captured for us in part in the writings of the Fathers, the lives of the saints, and the various collections of sayings of the monastic fathers. Among the most prized literary possessions of the Church is the spiritual classic The Philokalia, which
By Michael Haldas, Thoughts on Peace amidst Pain and Suffering, June 13, 2016 “In Christianity we are taught sin is a condition of the world and the cause of human suffering. We are also taught Christ defeated sin and redeemed suffering through the cross and now our suffering can be transformative. Many of us reject this because it is not the answer we want to the condition of evil and suffering. Who would want this
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